Blue Jackets: Hope springs from remarkable stretch

Tuesday

Apr 30, 2013 at 12:01 AMApr 30, 2013 at 9:32 AM

It was the most memorable two-month stretch of play the Blue Jackets have ever put together, a 19-5-5 supernova that captured the city and launched the Jackets from fewest points in the NHL on Feb. 24 to one point shy of a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Aaron Portzline, The Columbus Dispatch

It was the most memorable two-month stretch of play the Blue Jackets have ever put together, a 19-5-5 supernova that captured the city and launched the Jackets from fewest points in the NHL on Feb. 24 to one point shy of a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

One point.

This season might have been short on games - 48, after an NHL owner's lockout - but it was not short of exceptional performance, emerging rookies, landmark trades and on-ice drama.

After three forgettable seasons, this was one to remember … with our annual season in review:

New faces = going places

After finishing 30th in points last season, the Blue Jackets' ownership group spent the offseason with backhoes and earthmovers, turning the franchise upside down and, at yet the same time, finally in the right direction.

John Davidson's broad shoulders and booming voice have set the tone. His firing of Scott Howson and hiring of Jarmo Kekalainen as general manager sent a message, too.

But the dressing room has undergone an energy boost, too.

The Blue Jackets had 11 players at the end of this season who did not finish 2011-12 in Columbus.

The furious finish

The Blue Jackets' 19-5-5 run was the best two months in franchise history. There is no second-place qualifier on this list.

During the streak, the Jackets outscored opponents 74-49, won eight road games and went 7-0-3 in Nationwide Arena - yet picked up only eight points on eighth place in the standings.

Along the way, crowds in Nationwide Arena began to grow, and the building was plugged back in to the proceedings.

Stretched over an 82-game season, a 19-5-5 pace equates to a 122-point season.

MVP

There is no argument here: Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky kept the Blue Jackets in almost every game, let them win games they should have lost and could lead to his winning the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender.

His 2.00 goals-against average and .931 save percentage were not only franchise records - by far - but also ranked in the NHL's top five. He also had the first shutouts of his career - four of them, in fact.

Imagine what the Philadelphia Flyers are thinking: They traded away a 24-year-old Vezina candidate.

Most improved player

The glut of candidates here explains why the Blue Jackets made such a surge this season:

1. Matt Calvert: He emerged as an elite forechecker with a sneaky sense for offense.

2. Dalton Prout: He was the 11th defenseman to play for the Jackets this season, but looks like a top-four fixture.

The addition of Calvert, Brandon Dubinsky and Nick Foligno transformed the Blue Jackets into a "speed" team and helped them create an identity based in work ethic and forechecking.

Opponents that used to amble their way up the ice found themselves under a barrage of bodies from all four lines.

It allowed the Blue Jackets to bridge the "skill gap" with some of the league's established teams.

Going streaking

The Blue Jackets set a franchise record with a 12-game point streak (8-0-4) from Feb. 26 to March 22.

Nine of those games went to overtime, five of them to shootout. At one point, four straight games ended in shootouts.

The previous franchise record point streak was eight games, set during the inaugural season.

Memorable moments

1. Vinny's Point: In a 3-0 win over Detroit at Nationwide, veteran winger Vinny Prospal emerged from a third-period scrum angry with a Red Wings player. He pointed tauntingly at the scoreboard, an image that delighted Blue Jackets fans after years of being taunted by Wings fans.

2. Bobrovsky's Flurry: In a five-second span in Saturday's finale, Bobrovsky faced an onslaught of shots from the Nashville Predators after losing his stick earlier in the shift. He was officially credited with five saves in five seconds, but replays showed at least six pucks getting denied.

3. Johansen's Prayer: In a must-win game April 15 at Colorado, Johansen made a rip of the puck from his own zone, sending it a good 140 feet down the ice … and right on stride to R.J. Umberger, who then scored the tying goal. Foligno won it in overtime.

Best wins

Feb. 11, 6-2 vs. San Jose: It didn't start the Blue Jackets' 19-5-5 run, but coach Todd Richards pointed to this game as when the kernel of "belief" was planted.

March 9, 3-0 vs. Detroit: The Blue Jackets were too much for the Red Wings to handle on this night. Read that again. It's true. It was 3-0, and it wasn't that close.

April 17, 3-2 OT at Anaheim: In a must-have game, the Jackets overcame a third-period deficit, then won in OT when Fedor Tyutin shoveled home a Nick Foligno pass, putting the Jackets temporarily in eighth place.

Worst losses

Jan. 23, 5-1 at Phoenix: Steve Sullivan had a hat trick and the Coyotes pulled away in a blowout.

Jan. 24, 4-0 at Colorado: Looked like old times. Avs score in the first minute and cruised.

March 23, 5-2 at Nashville: A rare hiccup in the final 30 games of the season, but the Jackets weren't ready to play

The Bob Show

Besides being the favorite for the Vezina Trophy, Bobrovsky could be a finalist for the Hart Trophy, given to the league's most valuable player.

A list of his superlative performances could fill this entire space. We'll go with the top three:

April 13, 3-2 shootout win at Minnesota: The Jackets were outshot 41-22, but Bobrovsky came up huge, stopping Zach Parise and Mikko Koivu in the shootout for two huge points.

March 16, 1-0 shootout win vs. Phoenix: Bobrovsky won without his team scoring a goal, technically. He made 39 saves as the game went into a shootout, where he stuffed Mikkel Boedker and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

March 14, 2-1 shootout loss at Chicago: Bobrovsky made 40 saves in front of a raucous United Center crowd, prompting Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville to describe him as "not of this world the rest of us are living in."

Going for it

The Blue Jackets play in March turned Davidson and Kekalainen into "buyers" at the trade deadline, acquiring Marian Gaborik in a blockbuster trade with the New York Rangers that sent Derick Brassard, Derek Dorsett and John Moore out of Columbus.

Gaborik is a three-time 40-goal scorer entering a contract year next season.

Richards' revival

Richards took over the Blue Jackets at the midpoint of last season, when they were 11-25-5 and seemingly without hope.

Since then, the Jackets are 42-38-9.

Richards always deflects credit, but he deserves so much for helping restore order, faith and confidence in the dressing room.

He's entering the final year of his contract next season.

Mr. Underrated

Mark Letestu has opened many eyes since he was acquired from Pittsburgh for a fourth-round draft pick last season.

He led the Jackets in goals (13), was second in points (27), scored two game-winning goals, had a plus-7 rating, won 50 percent of his faceoffs and scored three shootout goals. Among forwards, only R.J. Umberger (1,149) took more shifts than Letestu (1,015).

Stout rookie

Prout wasn't recalled until late February but had a plus-15 rating in 28 games, ranking third among rookies and 11th among NHL defensemen.

The 6-foot-3, 220-pounder is surprisingly adept with the puck.

How about Howson?

Ironically, it was former Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson who encouraged ownership to look into the possibility of hiring Davidson away from the St. Louis Blues.

They did, and four months later Davidson replaced Howson with Kekalainen, whom he'd worked with in St. Louis.

It must be said, however, than many of the moves that worked so well this season - trading for Bobrovsky, the trade return for Rick Nash, hiring Richards, etc. - were all Howson's work.

He was named senior vice president of hockey operations for the Edmonton Oilers last month.

After 12 seasons in the Western Conference and the Central Division, the Blue Jackets are heading to the Eastern Conference for the 2013-14 season and beyond.

Frankly, the Central - with Chicago, Detroit, Nashville and St. Louis - was never very hospitable. The Blue Jackets had five fifth-place finishes, six fourth-place finishes and one third-place finish (2005-06).

However, the Jackets went 9-6-3 in the division this season, the first time they ever had a winning record.

By the numbers

100: wins by the Jackets in the Central Division the past 12 seasons (100-147-47)

94: the Blue Jackets' "point pace" this season if sustained over an 82-game season

75: seconds between a three-goal flurry by the Blue Jackets on March 22 vs. Calgary, a franchise record.

34: fighting majors for the Blue Jackets; only Toronto (44) had more.

28: of the 48 games, 28 were decided by one goal, and the Jackets were 14-7-7 in those games

24: wins for the Jackets, more than they had in 2001-02 (22) in an 82-game schedule

12: wins by the Jackets (12-11-5) when the opponent scored first. They were 6-33-3 in those games last season.

3: players who played in all 48 games: Prospal, Tyutin and Umberger

-3.2: the Blue Jackets' shot differential, sixth-worst in the NHL

aportzline@dispatch.com

@aportzline

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.